thefilms_2011
documentaries
Saturday 4:30 - the Maxx
Beatboxing - The Fifth Element of Hip Hop
Klaus Schneyder
US/53:00
It was in the late 70s that a youth culture evolved in
the poorer parts of New York which combined several disciplines under the name of Hip Hop. Apart from the four classic elements of Graffiti writing, Diking, Breakdancing, and Rapping, the musical side of this culture was enhanced by a fifth element called ‘Beatboxing’.
* filmmaker in attendance
Sunday 1:00 - the Library
Death By Medicine
Gary Null
US/117:00
The film explores the dominant medical paradigm, the current health crisis, and a healthier, more holistic system. Based on Gary Nulls groundbreaking book with statistical evidence of hundreds of thousands of injuries and deaths due to conventional medicine. It looks at the pharmaceutical industry, drug reps, medical schools, medical journals and the absence of real medical science. The lack of oversight by our regulatory agencies, private insurance firms and lobbying influence upon our legislators. The result is the American medical system is broken and it is time to create a new medical paradigm.
* filmmaker in attendance
Saturday 12:00 - the Library
Death or Taxes: The Sad Truth
About Our American Taxation System
James Simmons
US/78:00
Death or Taxes explores the horrifying realities faced by the millions of taxpayers who owe back taxes. Every day good, honest people are forced to make terrible decisions: pay the rent, or pay the IRS? Put food on the table, or make your tax payment? Facing these awful situations, some people are pushed beyond the point of hope, into the last decision they’ll ever make.
Friday 2:15 - the Library
Edward James: Builder of Dreams
Avery Danziger
US/58:00
This film will take you on an extraordinary journey into the word of surrealist collector, poet, and architect Edward James. For the last 20 years of his life, aided by 40 full time laborers and craftsmen, he built one of the biggest and yet least known architectural monuments of the 20th century, dedicated to Surrealism and hidden in the jungles of Mexico. Born into extreme wealth and luxury, he turned his back on the rigid aristocratic circles of Edwardian England, and befriended, supported, and collaborated with fledgling artists who would become household names in later years. Although he has been called “A legend among the legendary”, only a few people recognize his name or know of his artistic accomplishments.
* filmmaker in attendance
Sunday 3:30 - the Library
Farmageddon
Kristin Canty
US/90:00
Armed guards point guns at watermelons and USDA officials incinerate healthy sheep in this new documentary by Kristin Canty. This powerful film exposes the government’s war on American farmers and co-ops that supply fresh, unprocessed foods to consumers concerned about personal, ecological and economic health.
* filmmaker in attendance
Saturday 3:30 - the Library
Genocide Revealed
Yurij Luhovy
Canada/75:00
Genocide Revealed is a historical feature documentary on the Kremlin-engineered genocide of the Ukrainian nation. Focusing on the 1932-1933 artificial famine in Soviet occupied Ukraine and the accompanying executions, repressions and arrests of Ukrainian intellectuals, spiritual leaders and general population, the film depicts one of the greatest human tragedies of the 20th century. Millions perished. The documentary is based on compelling testimonies of survivors, commentaries by historians and researchers, rare historical footage, photos and most recent archival documents.
Friday 4:30 - The Maxx
Guest of Cindy Sherman
Paul H-O and Tom Donahue
US/88:00
This documentary charts the improbable and tumultuous relationship between superstar artist Cindy Sherman and Paul H-O, director of TV show, GalleryBeat. Filmed over six years, this film offers unprecedented access to notoriously media-shy Sherman with anecdotes from close friends, contemporary artists, and movie stars. The directors have fashioned a quirky valentine to a great artist and a compelling critique of the high-flying New York art world.
* filmmaker in attendance
Sunday 5:00 - Bank Street Theater
Hidden Treasures: Stories from a Great Museum
Alexandra M. Isles
US/55:00
Last year over five million people visited the Metropolitan Museum. How many were able to find the secrets and powers hidden in the works of art? Museum staff, who spend their days, and sometimes their nights, restoring, guarding, moving, cleaning and teaching about the art, reveal some of the magic they have discovered. Their stories include a wish-granting statue, a sword with a secret compartment, a time traveling melody, a portrait that has become a trusted mentor, a famous landscape with an unexpected population, and where a dying woman found joy.
* filmmaker in attendance
Sunday 3:45 - Bank Street Theater
In A Town This Size
Patrick V. Brown
US/71:00
In A Town This Size introduces an Oklahoma town and its long-suppressed tragedy of childhood sexual abuse. The abuser, a prominent and trusted pediatrician is, through this film and for the first time, held accountable for the actions he cleverly perpetrated. His victims, their families and professionals tell stories through poignant first-person interviews. This film brings to viewers an unnerving familiarity with the lifelong devastation from this kind of abuse.
* filmmaker in attendance
Saturday 10:15 - the Library
John Muir in the New World
Catherine Tatge
US/82:00
John Muir in the New World is a film that follows the life of the Scottish-American naturalist and places his writing, his beliefs, and his nature advocacy in the context of late 19th and early 20th century American history. John Muir has been described by his many devoted fans as a “supersalesman of Nature,” the true founder of the national parks system and the “patron saint” of the environmental movement.
* filmmaker in attendance
Sunday 11:30 - Bank Street Theater
Living for 32
Kevin Breslin
US/40:00
Living for 32 is the inspirational story of Colin Goddard, a survivor of the tragic gun shooting massacre which occurred on the Virginia Tech campus, April 16th, 2007. The winning combination of Colin’s passion, charisma and optimism has commanded the attention of the American public and media since the devastating incident which left 32 dead and 17 injured. In Living for 32, Colin shares an intimate account of terror he and his classmates endured and the courageous journey of renewal and hope he chose to pursue.
* filmmaker in attendance
Friday 3:30 - the Library
Out of the Darkness
Stefano Levi
Germany/72:00
Most of the world’s blind people live in remote, impoverished areas. The majority of doctors able to cure them work in cities. Dr. Sanduk Ruit from Nepal, and his American partner, Dr. Geoff Tabin, have made perfecting a portable low cost surgery to restore sight their life’s work. They trek to Nepal’s remote Northeast, carrying an entire hospital on porter’s backs. Their mission is to bring the needlessly blind out of the darkness.
Saturday 1:45 - the Library
Reflections of the Past
Alexander Roman
US/90:00
On June 22, 1954, two teenage girls Pauline Yvonne Parker and Juliet Marion Hulme murdered Honora Parker, the mother of Pauline Parker in Victoria Park outside the city of Christchurch, New Zealand. This crime continues to fascinate the world. In 1994, Peter Jackson created a film based on the events called ‘Heavenly Creatures’ with Kate Winslet & Melanie Lynskey. This documentary will examine the relationship of Pauline & Juliet and the murder case.
* filmmaker in attendance
Friday 12:30 - the Library
Three Days
Punch Hyde-White
US/92:00
Father and Son dynamics come into focus as a troupe of actors, and others, gather to rehearse and perform a stage-reading of a famous play in...three days. Reality intrudes as they come together and strangers bond, like in war. Without a net, they galvanize during rehearsal while the lead actor manager, both as himself and his character of Hamlet, grapples with the unexpected task of coming to terms with his powerful and famous father. A ‘cliff notes’ examination of one of the best plays ever written by the best cast they could find, including three famous sons of three very famous actors; reality documentary weaves with neo-classic drama to create an original take on a most primal story, all taking place over...Three Days.
Saturday 9:00 - the Library
The World’s Tallest Man: Still Growing
Stuart Clarke
UK/50:00
An emotional documentary following eight foot one tall Sultan Kosen, The World’s Tallest Man, as he embarks on an inspirational journey in search of life-saving surgery and true love.
Sunday 12:30 - Bank Street Theater
We Still Live Here
Anne Makepeace
US/58:00
Âs Nutayuneân tells the amazing story of the return of the Wampanoag language, a language that was silenced for more than a century. The Wampanoag’s forebears ensured the survival of the first English settlers in America, and lived to regret it. A century ago, their language virtually disappeared. Spurred on by an indomitable Wampanoag woman named Jessie Littledoe Baird, who just won a MacArthur genius award for her unprecedented work, the Wampanoag are bringing their language and their culture back to life. The film interweaves contemporary verité scenes of cultural revival among the Wampanoag on Cape Cod and Martha’s Vineyard with dark events in New England history that nearly obliterated their culture.
* filmmaker in attendance
features
Friday 8:00 - the Maxx
Dandelion Man
Peter Bolte
US/82:00
The story of a man drifting through life self-absorbed and unaware of the emotional damage he inflicts on those close to him. That is however, until he is forced to come to terms with his own past and crippling baggage.
* filmmaker in attendance
Friday 11:00am/5:45 - Bank Street Theater
Der Sandmann
Peter Luisi
Switzerland/88:00
One fine morning, Benno finds sand in his bed. While he tries to ignore this at first, he soon must realize that he himself is loosing the sand. Day after day the sand increases and soon his time literally starts running short. Finally he is left no choice but to ask Sandra for help, who runs a small coffee shop under his apartment. Although Benno hates her with a passion, he started
having dreams of her every night. What could Sandra and the dreams have to do with the sand?
Saturday 3:45 - Bank Street Theater
Director’s Cut
Elana Mugdan
US/96:00
Director’s Cut is the story of Cassie Thompson, a college dropout and ex-film student who decides to make a movie in an attempt to turn her dead-end life around. However, her movie is about the Zombie Cannibal Vampire Pirate Queen, and her cast and crew are neurotic and inexperienced, to say the least. Our film chronicles Cassie’s misadventures and mishaps as she attempts to get her movie made.
* filmmaker in attendance
Saturday 3:15 - the Maxx
Division
Paul Robinson
US/66:00
Years after the worlds most devastating economic crash, two siblings are forced to survive by the same dictator which tore their family apart. With no one left to protect them, they must rely on their bond and will to survive. When dedication turns to betrayal, their lives and roles are shifted when the daughter of their leader escapes her sheltered life to seek the truth. Armed with little more than a glimpse into her mothers past, she is forced to fight her way past her fathers soldiers to find her link within the division.
* filmmaker in attendance
Saturday 8:00 - Bank Street Theater/The Maxx
Fake
Gregory Friedle
US/107:00
Daniel Jakor is the one of the most prolific and successful artists the world has never heard of. Struggling to sell his own art, he finds his true genius lies not in the creation of his own work, but in the forgery of the great masters. However, he soon becomes involved with a corrupt gallery owner and mob boss, and it is only Daniel’s ex-fiancee, an authenticator, who can help. Can she find him before the FBI does? Or will his double-crossing the mob bring his world crashing down around him? And, more importantly, in the end, if no one knows- if they’ll never know- is it really Fake?
* filmmaker in attendance
Saturday 5:45 - Bank Street Theater
Fifty-Nothing
Thomas Johnston
US/82:00
Over a holiday weekend in the desert, two fifty year old men confront the question, ‘Is it the beginning of the end, or the end of the beginning?’, in this coming of age story about the coming of age.
Friday 8:00 - Bank Street Theater
The Fiction
Daniel DiLeo
US/71:00
In the midst of creating his newest masterpiece, Werther Oaks, an established author, develops writer’s block. His current novel is at a dead end. Driving himself into a thick depression, Werther begins having hallucinations. Is he
losing his mind, or is his mind simply telling the story?
* filmmaker in attendance
Sunday 12:30 - Bank Street Theater
Hello Lonesome
Adam Reid
US/91:00
With an enchanting mixture of laughter and longing, the worlds of six flawed yet endearing individuals are woven together as they explore those age-old human desires:
to love and be loved.
* filmmaker in attendance
Thursday 8:00 - the Maxx
Mil Mascara Versus the Aztec Mummy
Jeff Burr
US/58:00
Fans of the old Mexican wrestling/horror films will get a kick out of this homage starring one of the greatest of the masked superheroes, Mil Mascaras. The Aztec Mummy, after being brought back to life immediately launches into a plan to take over the world. But do not fear, Mil Mascaras, and an assortment of other masked Mexican grapplers, are here!
Saturday 5:45 - the Maxx
Press
Kazuyuki Akashi
Japan/83:00
The is the story of a Japanese family whose individual struggle with depression, self expression and lack of communication cause tumult among them.
Thursday 8:00 - Bank Street Theater
Paper Dolls (short)
Adrian Correia
US/12:00
Stephen Pelletier has spent the last four years making a new life for his niece Juliet...unexpectedly, his damaged younger sister Madeleine returns to reclaim the life she left behind.
Rock Steady
Mustapha Khan
US/90:00
A coming of age drama set in the world of stock-car dirt-track racing, against a heavy reggae soundscape. 20-year old BC, the only black kid on a very white track, sees racing as his way out - and up into manhood.
* filmmaker in attendance
Saturday 2:30 - Bank Street Theater
3 Weeks to Daytona
Bret Stern
US/72:00
A drama about an aspiring stock car racer, who is an airport limo driver during the day. He uses the money from his day job to fund his expensive racing habit. A local track runs a contest with the chance for the winner to qualify for the Daytona 500.
* filmmaker in attendance
shorts
Saturday 1:00 - Bank Street Theater
short block one
DOS C
Michael Buscemi
US/15:00
Waking up after a troubled night, Michael, a down and out New Yorker struggles to pick up the pieces when chaos ensues and communication breaks down when a young women speaking only Spanish comes to his apartment door in search of her friend.
* filmmaker in attendance
The Death of Toys
Lisa Gold
US/12:00
Ten year-old Seth wants to give up his toys, but his work-numbed mother Lily needs the spark of their playtime more than he does. Her insistence that he keep the toys leads to some unexpected places.
* filmmaker in attendance
Mattress World
Gwydhar Gebien
US/7:00
When an overworked mattress salesman closes shop after a long day, he discovers a mysterious young boy in the showroom. As he gives chase, the little boy leads him to a whimsical place where the mattresses have personalities of their own, and they attempt to lure him back to where he belongs during the borrowed hours of the night - in bed. ‘Mattress World’ is a fable about finding the right mattress to suit your most difficult customer yet: your inner child.
* filmmaker in attendance
Second Glance
Douglas Hall
US/12:00
When the son Sallie gave up twenty-five years earlier comes to meet her, she is struck by his uncanny resemblance to his father and struggles to reveal the tragic circumstances that led to his adoption.
* filmmaker in attendance
Allison
Charles Hood
US/4:00
ALLISON is a short mockumentary about a failed relationship.
Harlequin’s Entry into Venice
Barry O’Rourke
US/9:00
In late 1972 artist Leroy Neiman wanted to make a documentary film of his project. Painting a 106' mural for the dinning room at the Playboy Great Gorge Hotel in NJ. The mural was of one of his favorite characters’, Harlequin’s Entry into Venice. It would be the first time he was able to hang all 13 8’ x 4' panels as they would be hung when finished. I immediately agreed to make the film and we spent a long 3-day weekend just winging it and exploring all the angles using 2 - 16mm French Beaulieu film cameras.
* filmmaker in attendance
This will be a VERY exciting Q & A stick around!
Madness of War
Patrick Hendrickson
US/18:00
It is the winter of 1776. Outside the battle of White Plains a young soldier deserts battle. As he descends the icy slops of Chatterton Hill he hears the agonizing screams of the comrades he left behind. Although plagued by guilt he can’t bring himself to return. As he continues down the hill he hears someone approaching. Fastening his bayonet he jolts out in an act of desperation and stabs the approaching soldier. The young boy looks in horror as he realizes that his own comrade lies dead under his knife. As he is covering up his crime, two high ranking colonial officers approach. The boy is trapped. But the guilt he carries from his actions drives the boy to madness.
* filmmaker in attendance
Sunday 3:45 - the Maxx
short block two
Not on the 1st Date
Carlos Dorsey
US/6:00
Student
How do you start over? How does one move on after years in a relationship? It’s not easy to go from being a we, to now being just a me? These are the questions facing Anthony as he ventures out into the world of dating all over again.
* filmmaker in attendance
Love Is Blind
Patricia Federico
US/7:00
Love transcends the differences, which often divide people. It is the one emotion without boundaries. On a lazy summer day visitors to a seaside park admire and share moments of true love between two people oblivious to the world around them. Our couple evokes interest from everyone who passes by. There is no consideration to the traditional limits of race, religion and culture proving ‘Love is Blind’.
* filmmaker in attendance
The Visit
Alexa DiCambio
US/5:00
Student
Three sisters attempt to reconnect with their father who has Alzheimer’s.
* filmmaker in attendance
Bruce’s Garden
Ryan O’Leary
US/8:00
Student
Told through the eyes of a grieving father, ‘Bruce’s Garden’ is a true story about life, loss, and community.
* filmmaker in attendance
The Pickle Guys
Richie Siegel
US/9:00
A look at one of the last pickle shops remaining on the Lower East Side of Manhattan.
* filmmaker in attendance
With Hope
Kelsey Jackson
US/9:00
Student
After losing contact with her fiancé, a young woman travels to a foreign land in search of him. She leaves behind her broken and war-plagued country to encounter new places and new people. Facing the unknowns of this new country and the walls put up to stop her, she must keep her heart strong and her hope even stronger.
* filmmaker in attendance
David at Home
Alexa DiCambio
US/22:00
Student
A man in his 30’s struggles to balance his relationships with his girlfriend and his mother
* filmmaker in attendance
Saturday 10:00 - the Maxx
short block three
Highrise
Robbie Norris
US/17:00
A hilarious but dangerous late night adventure in a high-rise forces Peter to face his demons and mend his relationship with his estranged brother.
* filmmaker in attendance
Oh Sister
Susan Hippen
US/2:00
‘Oh Sister’ is a comedy in which Aidan and Claire regress sixty years in a sibling rivalry standoff.
* filmmaker in attendance
Shudder House
Joey Dello Russo
US/15:00
Student
On a rural estate in 1951, a boy named Robby trudges through a meaningless childhood. Training on classical piano is his only chore dictated by unloving parents. But when a Southern farmhand named Emma returns to the farm with a guitar in hand, Robby faces his only opportunity to grow and feel beyond his boyish blues.
* filmmaker in attendance
Block
Chadd Harbold
US/12:00
A young actress living in Brooklyn discovers how profoundly her hostile environment has affected her.
* filmmaker in attendance
Pizza with Aeneas
Jessica Granger
US/6:00
Life inside a rundown Italian pizzeria takes an unexpected turn when the gothic waitress runs away with her imagination...And takes the pizzeria with her.
Kasumi
Robert Meyer
US/14:00
Kasumi tells the story of the emotional struggle of Denny as he is forced to come to terms with the recent death of his girlfriend, Lisa. After Denny decides to visit Lisa’s room he finds the place to be a surreal portal to the memories the two of them shared there. When the real-life consequences of Denny’s dependency on reliving these moments start to pull on him, he is forced to re-evaluate his emotions and make a serious attempt at letting go.
* filmmaker in attendance
Saturday 11:30 - Bank Street Theater
short block four
Veneer
Peter Bolte
US/8:00
Insecurity and tension muster as Kenneth LeComb, a down and out bartender, is forced to work in the presence of Herbert Zelinger, a world-renowned and accomplished artist.
* filmmaker in attendance
Sweet Sweet Baby
Susan Hunt
US/11:00
A love story about falling and never getting up again. The memories of love between a nurse and her catatonic husband, and the night an old friend stops by for a visit.
* filmmaker in attendance
Two Birds
Francesco Saviano
US/14:00
Two friends, Randall and Jerome, venture through the industrial landscape of Brooklyn to retrieve a broken down car. Making an unexpected stop, Randall, in debt to an unstable crime boss, draws Jerome into his life of corruption and deceit.
* filmmaker in attendance
Sunday Morning Coming Down
Zachary Borst
US/21:00
Who doesn’t like guns and Johnny Cash?
The story of Q, a reticent day laborer, who can’t pay his mother’s medical bills and also make rent. When his landlord gives him a five-day ultimatum, he takes up a lucrative offer to murder the mistress of Daniel Roaldson, a neurotic kitchen designer with wife and son. A series of miscommunications and unfortunate incidents lead to the unraveling of both these men’s lives.
* filmmaker in attendance
Perhaps Tomorrow
Sandy Garfunkel
US/21:00
Annie has detached herself from her friends and her work, and seems desperate to find a connection with a world other than her own. She thinks there is only one path to resolution, but unexpectedly, her daily lunch routine becomes the key to making peace with the ghosts of her past.
* filmmaker in attendance
Sunday 2:00 - The Maxx
short block five
Human Being
Fernando Pinheiro
Brazil/10:00
Belo Horizonte City is bombed. On the hill, someone observes and thinks. An intense visual and subjective experience that across the reflexive, metaphorical, and surreal way invites you through to a sensible, symbolic, and poetic language to raise questions and bring up free reflections.
* filmmaker in attendance
Pursuit
Jaron Downs
US/14:00
A young part-time actor who struggles to get the support of his father after the passing of his mother.
* filmmaker in attendance
Quarters
Drew Mylrea
US/18:00
After Evan’s plan to take his best friend Chris on the cross country road-trip of a lifetime is derailed by Chris’ girlfriend, he exacts sweet revenge using a slip-n-slide and cupcakes.
The Last Days of Shaniko
Laura DeBar
US/28:00
Student
Zippora, a lonely widow in an abandoned ghost town meets Wade, a mysterious drifter. She is haunted by the memories of her dead husband and the range wars she witnessed as a child. Wade struggles to convince her to face the present. Zippora’s Uncle Gus, a lifetime rancher is losing his ranch in part because of Yellow Star Thistle.
* filmmaker in attendance
Sunday 10:00 - Bank Street Theater
short block six
Cankered and Cursed
Todd DeJong
US/4:00
Animated
The story depicts a sisterhood of evil witches that must avoid getting possessed by the goodness that surrounds them, before it’s too late.
The Perfect Hurl
Will Eisenberg
US/15:00
When an innocent adolescent plays a thorny game of follow-the-leader with his daredevil classmates, he faces more danger than ever before. Luckily, sometimes a prick of trouble leaves a battle scar worth flaunting.
The Action Hero
Oliver Mann
US/12:00
We follow “Tommy” in sections of his life as he desperately tries to make amends with each situation in his life. In action movies the hero always overcomes each plight with valor and ultimately rewarded, but what happens when Tommy tries to emulate the hero and things fall apart?
* filmmaker in attendance
Doctor Kong
Alexis Neophytides
US/18:00
Documentary
Blood, boobs and video games in a feel-good comedy! The film follows New York plastic surgeon Hank Chien’s year-long journey as he challenges the Donkey Kong world record. Dr. Chien’s successful crowning as 2010 champion makes the Guinness Book of Records amid media and fan explosion. The classic gaming world scores high points with this affectionate homage.
* filmmaker in attendance
What’ll You Give
Susan Sfarra
US/24:00
Documentary
A group of Pennsylvania auctioneers and a chorus of bidders discuss the joys of the local public auction circuit.
* filmmaker in attendance
Saturday 10:00 - Bank Street Theater
short block seven
A Sense of Humor
Nathan Larkin-Connolly
US/13:00
When struggling stand-up comedian, Charlie West, meets the girl of his dreams he is shocked to find that she was born without the ability to laugh. Charlie is used to silence in the comedy clubs but not from the love of his life. He decides to make it his very purpose to get her to crack up, but when things don’t seem to be going as planned Charlie wonders if he’ll have to choose between love and laughter.
* filmmaker in attendance
The Greims
Peter Bolte
US/14:00
The story of two estranged brothers who meet to resolve their mother’s will. When their volatile personalities emerge, how will this portrait of sibling rivalry play out?
* filmmaker in attendance
Room Enough
Mehran Torgoley
US/25:00
Jon Etticks is a talented young writer who has lost his way to laziness and distraction. His life is humdrum and unchanging until a strangely familiar visitor arrives at his door, causing him to re-evaluate his very being.
* filmmaker in attendance
Breaking Out
Kevin Barile
US/21:00
Breaking Out is an action/drama about a prisoner who is highly trained in the art of combat who must break out of his cell, fight the guards and rescue his best friend, Benny, from the mysterious people holding them hostage before they both suffer an inevitable.
* filmmaker in attendance
Friday 2:30 - Bank Street Theater
short block eight
One Afternoon
Matias Shimada
US/15:00
Visions unfold in an apartment building. After moving to New Haven, Connecticut, a young novelist meets his next-door neighbor in a rather unusual circumstance.
Colivia (The Cage)
Adrian Dorin Sitaru
Romania/17:00
Love and survival in the tough struggle of maintaining the specie. A sick dove brought home by Mihaes’s little boy raises new conflicts between father and son but also a possible ‘reconciliation’ that Mr. Mihaes does not want to lose. In the end, the dove dies but the son-and-father relationship is saved.
For Jie
Hiroshi Hara
US/9:00
‘For Jie’ is a short film into the mind of a struggling husband & newborn father in the bustling streets of Guangzhou. Born and raised into poverty, life is a continuous struggle for Biaojia. If given the opportunity, he would wish a better life for his newborn son, Jie.
Sharfik
Karina Gazizova
US/14:00
Animated
My latest film is about one family. There’s nothing too special about this family except they happened to live during the period of World War II. The most unbearable siege sucks the last drop of life out of a once warm family. The true strength of oneself is reached in the
most difficult times, when it is needed most.
Animal Control
Kire Paputts
Canada/17:00
Before Sammy, his best friends were stuffed animals. Larry, an eccentric amateur taxidermist, works for Animal Services picking up road kill along the highway. Socially isolated, he’s retreated into an emotional state where his only companions are the animals he’s stuffed.
Friday 3:00 - The Maxx
short block nine
Move
Sebastian Jones
US/9:00
Student
A traveler experiences a narrative of motion.
Atroz (Awful)
Francisco Alvarez
Spain/9:50
Atroz is a singular teddy bear, worn and curmudgeon, whose owner is Luna, a little girl who has taken him as her best friend. He’ll tell us in first person all the misfortunes that he will have to live to flee from Luna’s ceaseless petting, endearments and games.
Bait
Michael Moore
US/10:00
Animated
A group of worms wake up one morning to find themselves trapped in a young boy’s bait bucket.
Ela veio me ver (She Came Along)
Essi Rafael
Brazil/17:00
Delcides waits for Tatiane. They will spend an afternoon together, for the first time. A chance to talk, to know each other, without anybody else around. However, hidden by the seemingly inoffensive conversation, there is a world of feelings. Anxiety. Shyness. Insecurity. Fear. Until the sunset, a relationship can be born. It all depends of a kiss.
* filmmaker in attendance
Bathing & the Single Girl
Christine Elise McCarthy
US/11:00
A comedic look at the unspoken horrors of dating - and bathing with - younger men.
Chill Pill
Michael Bernstein
US/16:00
Chill Pill is a dark comedy about Ren, a middle-aged Italian American grappling with an impulse control disorder that causes him to spontaneously exhibit episodes of explosive aggression. Fed up with his lifestyle of dependency on mood stabilizers, he decides to take a stab at self control on his own terms.
Friday 4:00 - Bank Street Theater
short block ten
Ohayoo Ohio
Randolph Zaini
US/5:00
This is a music video for the internationally acclaimed jazz orchestra Pink Martini. It is an 60’s style espionage themed thriller featuring tango dancing, glamorous locations, and a fast paced visual story. ‘Ohayoo Ohio’ translates from Japanese to ‘Good morning Ohio’...
* filmmaker in attendance
Butterbird Hotline
Andy Milkis
US/14:00
True love is never undercooked. Barbara Sue Whittson is a turkey cooking counselor for the Butterbird Hotline. For the past 17 years, she has helped thousands of people avoid Thanksgiving disasters. But what about her? How did she come to work for the hotline, and what is the terrible secret that compels her to help others?
* filmmaker in attendance
The Haymaker
Daniel D’Alimonte
Canada/24:00
An uninspired youth joins a gym to prove his mother wrong but doubts himself after he realizes who the trainer is.
* filmmaker in attendance
Tracks
Kevyn Settle
US/30:00
Martin, a self-destructive amputee, reflects on his troubled youth while drifting through the harsh streets of Baltimore, constantly reliving the events of the day that changed his life forever. Tracks is a searing portrait that grips us, as layers of the past peel away to reveal the painful road map of one man’s life.
* filmmaker in attendance
Thursday 3:00 - the Maxx
short block eleven
Cold Sore
Matt Bird
Australia/18:00
After kissing a stranger in a bar, Jenna wakes up the next day to discover a nasty lesion has appeared on her lip. The doctor’s initial diagnosis suggests a simple cold sore. But further tests reveal a much more sinister cause.
Homeless Conductor
Dony Chiang
Taiwan/3:00
Animated
About a homeless person who used to be a great conductor of a famous orchestra band. No one cares about him anymore; he lies in a corner of a cold and silent city. One night, he tries to fight against this loneliness and he picks up the old baton. He takes a deep breath, starts to whip it, and suddenly, a miracle happens...
Swing
Yen-Ting Kuo
Taiwan/4:00
Animated
While enjoying a swing on the roof, an elderly patient is reminded of the value of his life.
Cores e Botas (Colors and Boots)
Juliana Vicente
Brazil/16:00
Joana has the same dream as all young Brazilian girls in the 80s: she wants to be a Paquita, a dancer on Xuxa’s TV show. Her family is wealthy and will support her. However, there is a problem: she is black and Xuxa never had a black Paquita on her team.
Bottles
Jon Stout
US/20:00
Mira has a dark secret, when she gets angry objects move and people get hurt. One day she discovers disturbing items in her daughter’s antique bottle collection and is frightened by what she finds. You have to be careful about what you collect.
GAYKEITH
Leslie Hope
US/10:00
Based on the ‘mostly true’ short story by Scott Edgecombe. Meet Scott: a 260 pound red-headed, fun-lovin’, bi-polar, hockey-playin’ sexual deviant who recently turned forty and who has spent the last 15 years living in Los Angeles, out of work and overweight. No job, no girlfriend, a lot of cereal and too much internet porn. On a particularly lonely Christmas Eve, Scott decides the answer to all his problems may lie in North Hollywood his name is Keith and he’s willing to wear pantyhose if Scott comes over.
Thursday 4:30 - the Maxx
short block twelve
Kidnap
Sijia Luo
US/4:00
Animated
A little chicken is late to school, but her excuse is too wild to believe: getting kidnapped on the way to school. Believe it or not, this chicken is a really good actress and Kung fu master! After her explanation, you have to believe that her adventure is true.
Mammas Pojke (Mammas Boy)
Hans Montelius
Sweden/15:00
In this Oedipal psychological comedy, a psychologist tries to heal the relationship between a mother and a son with some very unconventional methods.
Stuck on Stupid
George Aponte
US/20:00
After finding out his girlfriend is pregnant, a clueless teen struggles in a world full of odds.
* filmmaker in attendance
Patrick
David Rabinowitz
US/33:00
Do you have time to buy a CD before the bus comes? Patrick is a story about how tiny moments and decisions can affect our life and the lives of people we love.
* filmmaker in attendance
Saturday 11:45 - the Maxx
short block thirteen
The Bear
Devin Gardner
US/2:00
A man, alone in the urban world of New York City, has only his stuffed bear to keep him company. He depends on his inanimate friend, but is lost when his forgets his bear on the streets. Luckily for the bear, he is found by a passing pedestrian and will begin a new life.
* filmmaker in attendance
Bot
Mustafa Lazkani
US/4:00
Animated
In a world where all is good, a wicked 19th century scientist brings Evil. After bringing life to his 19’ tall robot invention, Bot, Dr. Leo readies himself to take over the world. He has brought life to metal in order to have metal destroy life.But Dr. Leo soon realizes that his newly born robot has no evil but rather an innocence that must be taught evil. In an unlikely tale of spirit and soul, an evil genius struggles with his very own creation of good.
* filmmaker in attendance
Second Cousins Once Removed
Eliza Hittman
US/11:00
On a family vacation, distant cousins Naomi and Jo-Jo are left alone for the night in a motel room. Against her grandfather’s permission, Jo-Jo leaves the room in search of soda, playing cards and mischief.
* filmmaker in attendance
The D Word
Alyse Couture
US/15:00
student documentary
Housatonic Valley Regional High School examines the issues of free speech. Features the story of Avery Doninger, a Connecticut student who was punished for calling her superintendent a ‘douche bag.’ The case, on its way to the Supreme Court, looks at the trend towards greater control of young people’s speech in and out of schools grounds.
* filmmaker in attendance
April’s Heart
Jacob Wentworth/Salinda Dong
US/38:00
April is a shy observer in a small town high school. She watches and listens while her peers survive teenage chaos. Can she find her place in the cliquey, unforgiving halls of the high school, or will she stay safe and alone on the outside? April’s Heart tears the mask off of young people so we can see inside - a story that gives us an intimate look at the challenges, hopes, and dreams of American teenagers. This movie invites us to listen... and to care. You will learn something you did not know... We promise.
* filmmaker in attendance
Sunday 12:15 - the Maxx
short block fourteen
Surviving Hunger
Balgum Song
US/3:00
Animated
The animation is placed on a desert-like landscape where there is just sand and dry air with no food. I am using two characters for this storyline. One is a big frog-looking character who wonders around for food. The other is a cute little character that comes towards the big character to use himself as a bait. The story is going to be a conflict between these two characters.
Change for a Dollar
Sharon Wright
US/10:00
Walk in the steps of a man as he affects multiple peoples lives with just one dollar, proving that it doesn’t take much to be the change in some ones life.
Y The Last Man
Ryan O’Leary
US/30:00
Student
On July 17, 2002, something simultaneously kills every living mammal possessing a Y chromosome. The only exception appears to be New York’s Yorick Brown, a young amateur escape artist.
* filmmaker in attendance
Youth/Beauty
Zaike Airey
US/31:00
Three teenage friends decide to run away from their homes in Hartford, CT to New York City. Immaturity, jealousy and dishonesty will threaten their plan for escape as well as their friendship. They will have to learn the hard way that there is no such thing as a ‘clean break’.
* filmmaker in attendance
Saturday 10:30 - Bank Street Theater
short block fifteen
Smoke Rings
Rex Carter
US/4:00
An homage to the great comics from the silent-era of cinema, ‘Smoke Rings’ follows the efforts of an affable, yet hapless chap, as he tries to impress the beautiful lady that has caught his eye at the neighborhood speakeasy. Standing in his way, however, is a licentious rival and a bartender with really bad timing.
* filmmaker in attendance
The Line
Joe Petrilla
US/8:00
A film about growing up and growing old. A man on the verge of suicide and a boy with a violent imagination meet at the center of a long bridge. There, each may find fulfillment, or at least some new understanding of what lies ahead.
* filmmaker in attendance
Bodies in Motion
Jonathan Doster
US/8:00
Laurie Anderson’s song, Bodies in Motion, embodies emotions and visions which have inspired this somebody to express with imagery of heavenly bodies, bodies of water, human bodies, creatures and nobodies…setting in motion an out-of-body experience.
* filmmaker in attendance
The Tailor
Gordon Grinberg
US/7:00
Culture and confusion meet on a Brooklyn street in this hilariously charming tale of the similarities above, amid the diversity beneath the surface.
* filmmaker in attendance
No Remorse for Bloodshed
Kurtis Spieler
US/14:00
After a woman is savagely murdered in a cornfield, a group of men set out to take revenge on those responsible. However, revenge does not come without a price, and all those involved will soon learn that violence leads to more bloodshed in this gothic-style western.
* filmmaker in attendance
Growing Season
Susan Sfarra
US/17:00
On a hot summer day a boy explores the world of trimming Christmas trees with his grandfather and learns firsthand how the love of growing things can help us grow.
* filmmaker in attendance
Forever’s Gonna Start Tonight
Eliza Hittman
US/16:00
Sonya, a 17-year-old Russian immigrant, lives in a claustrophobic Brooklyn apartment with her dad and his ever-growing menagerie of cats. When the Landlady threatens to kick them out, Sonya is forced to make an unimaginable decision to protect her aging father and herself.
* filmmaker in attendance
Saturday 1:15 - the Maxx
short block sixteen
Tanks for Nothin’
Joshua Armstrong
US/2:00
Student/Animated
A 1950s Am.5her vivid imagination salvages an otherwise epically disappointing Christmas.
* filmmaker in attendance
Beneath the Same Sky
Dan Masucci
US/13:00
Many American children struggle with having loved ones deployed to war. For ten-year-old James, the distance separating him from his mother becomes a lesson in sacrifice, and a test of courage as the Fourth of July approaches.
* filmmaker in attendance
Lemon Pie and a Black Eye
Atanas Bakalov
US/10:00
When life gives you lemons, you gotta order up a lemon meringue pie. A quirky tale about a man who has been dealt the wrong hand in life but finds the courage – and the right props – to tickle Fortune’s soft spot.
* filmmaker in attendance
The Wheel Goes Round
Guy Shahar
US/8:00
With the economic crisis looming, a just-laid-off businessman stumbles into a magical pottery studio that inspires him to unleash his creativity and mold the life he’s imagined!
* filmmaker in attendance
Wild Turkey – First Look
Matthew Lee
Scotland/30:00
Student
Do you know what Wall Street did with your pension? Wildly tongue in cheek simple explanation of toxic mortgages, home equity loans, regulators, auditors, rating agencies and even credit default swaps, all blown into a turkey wrap!
* filmmaker in attendance
Friday 1:00 - Bank Street Theater
short block seventeen
A Farmer’s Tale
Max Kutner
US/21:00
Student
A Farmer’s Tale follows the Harbes family and other Long Island farmers who struggle to generate income while staying true to their roots in a season plagued by bad weather and economic recession.
* filmmaker in attendance
Congratulations, You’ve Won the Lottery
Elizabeth (Leza) Lidow
US/21:00
A tender loving lady, in her declining years, is rescued by two outlandish angels. They escort her royally and with vim and vigor to a life of bliss in the seventh heaven.
After Work
Taylor Toole
US/5:00
Go for a wild ride across Martha’s Vineyard as skateboarder Nick Briggs takes the long way home from work.
Original music by Bridget Barkan.
* filmmaker in attendance
Consequential Lies
Alex Fjellberg Swerdlowe
US/18:00
An isolated suburban woman with a dark past receives a phone call that reveals an eighteen year old secret.
* filmmaker in attendance